Ahead of the 73rd Republic Day, the government of India has released the list of Padma Awardees who will be conferred with amongst the highest civilian awards later this year by the President of India. Among those honoured with the prestigious award include late CDS General Bipin Rawat, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Cyrus Poonawalla, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and several others.
As per the list released by the government, the President, this year, has approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases (one award is given to two persons). The list includes 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards.
Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
Ms Prabha Atre, Shri Radheshyam Khemka(posthumous), General Bipin Rawat(posthumous), and Kalyan Singh(posthumous) are conferred with Padma Vibhushan.
The list of Padma Bhushan award includes eminent citizens from different walks of life, including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Bengali actor Victor Banerjee, former Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, MD of SII Cyrus Poonawalla, Krishna Ella and Suchitra Ella of Bharat Biotech, among others.
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was conferred with Padma Shri for his outstanding contribution in the field of sports. Other recipients of Padma Awards include Ms Badaplin War from Meghalaya, Ms Durga Vyam from Madhya Pradesh, Dr Kamlakar Tripathi and Shri Sivananda from Uttar Pradesh. Ms Gamit Ramilaben Raysingbhai has been bestowed with Padma Shri for her exemplary work in the field of social work. Similarly, Ms K V Rabiya from Kerala has been feted with the prestigious honour for her contribution to social work.
The entire list of Padma Awardees can be read here.
